Fire and Ice response: Eileen Cuevas

“Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost is a poem that addresses the theme of destruction. The author suggests that the destruction of the world will be brought about through humankind. One of the ways this is suggested is by the use of symbolism. For example, the fire and ice themselves are symbols of something greater. The fire represents desire, which is evident in the lines “From what I’ve tasted of desire / I hold with those who favor fire.” The speaker has had some experience with desire, which is a fiery emotion. Thus, the speaker believes that it is mankind’s overwhelming desire that will be the fire that destroys the world.
On the other hand, ice is also a symbol. The ice mentioned in the poem represents hate. The lines “I think I know enough of hate / to say that for destruction ice / is also great,” refers to ice as hate. In addition to experiences with desire, the speaker has experiences with hate. He or she considers hate to be a powerful emotion that is strong enough to potentially destroy the world. Therefore, man’s cold indifference is strong enough to cause the end of the world.
Additionally, the poem “Fire and Ice” addresses the theme of duality. The author uses diction to make this idea clear. The author uses the words “But if it had to perish twice” to acknowledge that there is more than one way for the world to end. There exists two ways for the world to be destroyed in the poem; one is with fire and the other is with ice. Duality is the existence of opposing ideas within one thing. Fire and ice, as well as desire and hate are both opposites. Knowing that both of these ideas can play a role in the end of the world refers to duality. Hence, the fire and ice exist as the duality within destruction.

Examples of duality exist everywhere. Duality in daily life can refer to a lot of things. Even the foods we eat have a lot of contrary ideas to them. Frozen Hot Chocolate, for instance, is a Hot Chocolate flavored drink that is not hot. Instead, it has the flavor of hot chocolate and is served cold. Therefore, duality can be seen the simplest things one sees every day.
Additionally, in American culture, duality can refer to a person’s dual ethnicity. America is a country full of people with all kinds of ethnicities. For example, a person can be both American and Hispanic, such as they were born and raised here while their family is from the Dominican Republic. Both of these ethnicities have their own set of ideas and customs. Many of these customs may clash with each other at times. Even though two ethnicities may have completely different ideas and customs, they can still co-exist within the same person. The person then finds a way to balance both of these contrary ideals, creating a duality within them.
Furthermore, duality can be seen in literature. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the characters constantly face the challenge of staying civilized or becoming savages. These two opposing characteristics are seen in Ralph, who is in the middle of civilized and savage. Ralph does show his civilized side as well as a more savage side throughout the novel, depending on the situation he is in. Because he is in the middle, he has a sense of duality within him.